Playing 3D video games improves the formation of memories

Experts in neurobiology conducted an experiment with 2D and 3D games.

Apart from generating fun and boosting coordination and reaction time , playing video games in 3D can improve the formation of memories, according to the latest study developed by neurobiologists at the University of California in Irvine (USA) and which includes the magazine The journal of Neuroscience .

Apart from generating fun and boosting coordination and reaction time , playing video games in 3D can improve the formation of memories, according to the latest study developed by neurobiologists at the University of California in Irvine (USA) and which includes the magazine The journal of Neuroscience .

The work demonstrates the incredible potential of virtual approaches in relation to people who lose their memory as they get older or suffer from dementia. Thus, the scientists counted on the participation of non-gamers university students whom they divided into two groups: the first group had to play a simple 2D game (" Angry Birds "); the second group to a game in 3D environment (" Super Mario 3D World "). The experts asked the participants to play at least 30 minutes a day for two weeks.

Before starting the experiment, the researchers performed various memory tests emphasizing the hippocampus , the brain region associated with complex learning and memory and with age decreases its effectiveness (hence it is difficult for older people remember where they have put the keys or remember new names).

The memory tests were performed again after the two weeks of the videogame experiment . The results revealed that those volunteers who played video games in 3D improved their scores on memory tests , while those who played in 2D did not. According to the analysis of the experts, memory performance increased by 12%.

" It is quite possible that by explicitly avoiding an approach limited to a single cognitive domain and in parallel or more closely to natural experience , immersive video games may be better suited to provide enriching experiences that result in functional gains ," explains Craig Stark. , leader of the study.